The Lights of the North
by lunaflore
Summary: Anna has been struck by Elsa, and her hair is turning white. She and Kristoff are journeying through a forest to see his family of trolls, which he knows could help her. They diverge to go to a scenic spot from where they can watch the northern lights that have unexpectedly appeared in the sky.


**This version differs slightly from the movie. Hans has in fact given Anna an engagement ring. Olaf does not appear at all. In the scene described, Anna is not yet experiencing the freezing effects of Elsa's powers.**

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><p>'I know a place not far from here, from where the lights can be seen in all their glory,' Kristoff said to Anna.<p>

Anna had been his travel companion for the past one and a half day. An unwelcome companion at first. When they met, she told him that she was the queen's younger sister. Apparently, it was the newly crowned queen of Arendelle who was responsible for bringing about winter in the middle of the summer and freezing the entire country. Kristoff didn't understand how that was even possible, but it didn't bother him much. He was only concerned about it impacting his ice business.

So Princess Anna and he had embarked on a journey with the mission to find the queen and make her bring summer back. But all that happened in the beginning was Kristoff finding the younger royal sibling unbearably annoying. Anna was stubborn and clumsy, and strangely ungracious for someone who was raised in a castle and not in a barn, as she had clarified. She talked without pausing to breathe, and often without thinking first. He was also certain that she acted without thinking, since she had gotten engaged to someone after being acquainted with them for only a few hours. A ring with an extravagant rock was glittering on her ring finger. It was given to her by her fiancé, some Prince Hans of the Southern Isles.

And she with her frivolity and recklessness had ruined his sled and almost let him be ravaged by wolves last night. In all his time of harvesting and delivering ice on his own, Kristoff had never managed to get himself into so much trouble at once.

But now, after they had found Queen Elsa, who had declared that she doesn't know how to stop the winter and then thrown Anna out of her ice palace, things had started to change. Anna had awakened unexpected feelings in him. Now that he had gotten to know her, Kristoff could see that she wasn't all bad. She was friendly and optimistic, and funny, and down to earth, and kind, and impressively fearless. She even felt an obligation to go after her sister just because she was her family. They weren't close and had hardly spoken during the last ten years, Anna had revealed. Kristoff wasn't sure he understood that either, but in any case he couldn't help admiring Anna's persistence and loyalty.

And now Kristoff liked being with her. And looking at her. She had the most mesmerizingly blue eyes. And array of freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks. It was downright amazing how strikingly those freckles contrasted against the blueness of her eyes and the fairness of her skin. And her winter clothing didn't entirely hide the alluring curves of her body, nor her tiny waist. So whenever Kristoff looked at her, he ached with wanting to touch her. To slide his hand underneath her bodice and explore her physique. It wasn't his fault that the princess was so sexually attractive without even realizing it.

So he had this uninvited tension burning within him. He strongly suspected that she felt the same way. He had noticed that she was endearingly coquettish with him. That she giggled and played with her braids, and spoke in a teasing way, albeit innocently so. And that she had jumped from the cliff by the ice palace just for him to catch her. Somehow Kristoff was sure that was true.

But Anna was engaged. And they couldn't continue flirting and pretending that something could happen between them, because it could not.

And now they were walking through a forest path. Kristoff was taking Anna to see his troll family. The queen had inadvertently struck her sister with her ice powers, while they were in the ice palace. Now Anna's hair was turning white. He was sure that Pabbie, Bulda, and others would know what to do about it. By now the sun had set and dusk had fallen over the woodland. It was getting darker by the minute. The snow-covered trees looked eerie in this time of day. Sven, Kristoff's reindeer and best friend, was walking ahead of them. The animal was leading their way toward the Valley of the Living Rock, a place where trolls resided.

'It's not that long now. We'll be there soon,' Kristoff said to his fellow traveler. 'So, about my friends... Well, I say friends, but they're more like family. Anyway, I just don't want you to be scared by them. They're not really scary, but they can be a little bit inappropriate. And loud, very loud... they're also stubborn at times, and a little overbearing. And heavy. Like, really, really heavy.'

Great, he thought. Now I can't even form coherent sentences in her presence.

Luckily he didn't have to continue speaking about the trolls. Anna assured him that all was good by putting her hand on his shoulder.

'Kristoff, I'm sure they're wonderful. How else can love experts be?'

'They're experts on all things, really.'

I should just shut up now, he thought.

Then she dropped her hand and glanced at the sky. Her eyes widened.

'Hey look!' She yelped. 'Look above!'

Kristoff looked up. What he saw stopped him in his tracks. The northern lights were shining bright in the sky. They must have appeared recently. The last time he checked, the sky was clear as water in a mountain brook. But now the aurora borealis was illuminating the entire surface of the firmament. The lights were gleaming in green, purple, yellow, and blue. It was just as incredible as it was logical. The lights appeared during winter months, after all. And they were caught up in an unintended winter.

'It reminds me of when Elsa and I were little,' Anna said, while continuing gazing at the sky. 'I remember that I would wake her up when the lights would come up and nag her about playing with me. I recall saying - the sky's awake, so I'm awake, so we have to play. The rest is a blur, for some reason. But I do remember that.'

'I know a place not far from here, from where the lights can be seen in all their glory.'

Anna glanced at him. 'You do?' She asked. 'Where is that?'

'It's very near,' Kristoff said. 'We will need to turn right from here and walk for a bit to reach it. It's a knoll that, once you climb it, gives you an excellent view of the sky and the surrounding nature.'

Anna's face lit up, as she heard this information.

'So let's go! Let's go right now. What are we waiting for?' She laughed and grabbed him by the sleeve.

And so they did. The travelers left Sven on the main path. Kristoff knew that his pet wouldn't wander away, but patently wait for them. They turned and walked through a thick tree copse. At the end of the copse, the said knoll was waiting for them. Kristoff climbed it quickly and without effort. When he was on top he thought that everything was as he remembered from when he used to come here with the younger trolls. The dazzling sky was visible in its completeness. The nearby mountain range and river could be seen further ahead.

'Hey, mister mountain man!'

He heard Anna's voice from behind and spun around.

'I don't think I can get up there by myself,' She said. She was still on the ground.

Kristoff laughed and bent down. 'Take my hand,' he instructed.

'Right. I forgot that you're the strong ice harvesting person.'

'That I am.'

She beamed and grasped his hand. He pulled her up and helped her reach the top of the knoll.

As soon as she was on it, Anna stared around in awe. She was in so much awe that she even forgot to release Kristoff's hand.

Then they just stood there and absorbed the view. For a few hypnotic moments, everything stopped. Time stood still. Time was frozen, like the land of Arendelle. All that existed for Kristoff were the lights in the sky and the wind blowing in his face. And Anna's small, warm hand in his. Then he turned to her. She was smiling. The lights were reflecting in her large blue eyes. She looked stunning. She was stunning. And she was looking at him with longing and anticipation. And, in the spirit of the moment, Kristoff was suddenly courageous, daring. He didn't want to feel uncomfortable anymore, only because he had been for a large portion of their trip. And, most importantly, he couldn't hold back anymore. After all, their hands were already interlocked. He stepped closer to her.

He moved hair away from her forehead with one hand and wrapped his other hand around her waist. He felt her body tremble. She was responding to his touch. He had guessed right – this was what she had wanted, too. She closed her eyes. But just as Kristoff was about to link his lips with hers, he saw Anna's left hand. And on it he saw her engagement ring. It was shimmering brightly. The ring that Hans, her fiancé, had given her.

Kristoff backed away and just stared at it. Anna opened her eyes. She glanced down to where he was looking. Instantly she jerked her hand away and hid it in the folds of her cape. Then she looked at him, and her face bore a completely changed expression. One of guilt, unhappiness and confusion.

'Let's get going,' Kristoff said and released her hand. He jumped down from the knoll and onto the snowy ground.

'Kristoff…' She began, while still standing on the top of the knoll.

'Let's just go, alright? It's already late. It'll be even later when we get there.'

He knew that in the course of their adventurous expedition both of them had forgotten about Hans more than a few times. But that didn't change the fact that he was real and would marry Anna when she'd return. And Kristoff knew that, if he would kiss her, it would just be plain wrong. It didn't matter how much he yearned to or how bright were the lights in the sky above them.


End file.
